2015 Hyundai Elantra - Loose oil plug

oil plug supposedly came loose causing rapid oil leak

If you discovered the problem right away and didn’t run it without oil you should be fine. That’s best case. If you ran it without oil for a significant period you probably did at least minor damage. If you’re driving it again I assume there’s oil in it now so keep an eye on it. It could either be from the plug not being tightened or over tightened so that the threads were stripped. I’m going to guess this happened after an oil change and probably a chain quick lube one.

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They do that when they are not properly tightened, or when they are stripped. Either way, the plug comes out and oil follows.

Hopefully, you turned off the engine as soon as the oil pressure warning light came on, and didn’t hear any loud noises such as knocking or timing chain rattling, etc.?

But, we’ll probably know.

The oil light didn’t come on until my wife had got the car off the road. Lots of oil on the ground after she parked. I wasn’t there and didn’t get to hear it. Dealer says I’m liable since we had the oil changed at a non-hyundai service facility and they didn’t tighten the plug properly. They say the engine is damaged.

Talk to the shop that did the oil change but don’t get your hopes up . A lot depends on how much time passed before you lost the oil .

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Thanks - I have a good relationship with them. This happened a month after the oil change.

You will soon find out how good that relationship is. I would not be surprised if they say something along the lines of “if we had left the plug loose it would not have stayed in for a month before falling out”’

And yes, an improperly tightened or plug/pan with damaged threads can certainly stay in place for a month before giving up.

Thanks for you input. Actually they are handling it well: willing to admit it could happen. These are unique people - family business.

Since it’s not going to be a warranty repair get a second opinion from an independent shop.

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